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Rodriguez

 Aria by Richard Rodriguez reminded me of my experience student teaching in a fourth grade classroom. A new student joined the class more than half way through the school year and spoke very little English, her native language being Spanish. The teacher assigned her to my small group and she had a very difficult time understanding directions and assignments as it was only in English. Many of the students in my classroom spoke fluent Spanish and translated for her often. I could tell this made her feel more comfortable and I was able to see more of her personality come through. Over the next few weeks I saw improvements in her reading and phonetics. I also noticed her becoming more outgoing with certain peers. In the large class setting she looked very lost and didn't understand what was going on. The teacher is working to get her services to help her, I didn't notice any other accomadations made for her. I thought about what Rodriguez said about learning English at school while feeling disconnected from Spanish at home. In this case, the student didn’t have to lose Spanish, she just needs the time and support to learn English. This experience showed me that classmates can play a big role in making a student feel like they belong. Rodriguez’s story helped me understand how emotional learning a new language can be, and how much courage it takes for students use it outside of their home. As a future educator, we have to make school feel like a safe place for all students. 



These two pictures show how important it is to support students who are learning English. The first picture lists seven things teachers can do, like giving students a safe place to learn, helping with emotions, and teaching language clearly. It shows that learning a new language takes more than just practice, it takes support in many areas. The second picture shows a simple greeting in English and Spanish, similar to the classroom I worked in. I picked it because it shows how even simple things, like saying “hello” in a student’s home language, can help them feel seen and accepted.


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